The Story So Far (A Second Time Around) According To Its Co-Founder
22nd July 2022.
Sitting at a tiny, rectangular table in the (unusually) scorching heat of a London afternoon, Ella and I were cogitating the possible consequences of pressing the ‘Publish’ button and get our newly created website to go live.
After months of brainstorming to find our niche, a suitable name and building our branding from scratch, while both considering quitting our jobs and move on to something different (which we actually did that summer), we felt our prospects were dire, to be honest.
We couldn’t have been more wrong. Pressing that ‘Publish’ button catapulted us into a brand new dimension, surrounded by writers, readers and fellow creatives (and exactly where we wanted to be). We soon found out we didn’t know as much as we thought about the world of self-publishing and authorship more generally, and the learning curve was steep, in a world where the chances of attracting attention online and sparking a meaningful dialogue are getting slimmer. But guess what?! It was 100% worth it!
While we are still relatively small, we are proud to say we have managed to build a network of authors and readers that are willing to work with us to prove that self-publishing is not an act of vanity (yes, that’s where our name comes from), but a publishing model that sits alongside traditional publishing as equally ‘legitimate’.
In time, we have also expanded our working relationships to include small, indie publishers who somehow face similar visibility challenges for their authors, with the ultimate goal to build an even bigger community and provide our readers with a wider choice of reading materials, carefully curated by us.
But enough of us bragging, this is our story so far… we do love a stat!
80 Book Reviews: 68 self-published books; 12 books by small, indie publishers;
55 Flash-Promos: short-form interviews with both up-and-coming and established authors presenting their latest creative endeavours;
16 Interviews delving into the meaning of authorship by focusing on real-life creative experiences;
10 Original Short Stories: written exclusively for Not for Vanity, storytelling at its finest;
A total of 161 authors (and books) featured.
50 Blog Posts:Â delving deeper into the world of writing as well as informing our readers on what we’ve been up to;
3 Digital Partnerships: we’ve been supporting three unique digital ventures (1) Mr. Mike’s podcast and Youtube channel, with his thought provoking, yet very very funny #wronganswersonly feature; (2) TheBookFather (aka Jason Atkinson) and his engaging read alouds on Twitch, showcasing books by both new and experienced authors; (3) Your Paper Quest, the first UK book-of-the-month subscription box focused on self-published and small indie published authors, now available in the US too!
2 Guest Book Reviewers: needless to say we couldn’t have done it without the contribution and ongoing support of published authors and reviewers extraordinaire Robin Stevens and Hayley Price.
As far as our future plans are concerned, we still have lots of ideas we’d like to implement, even though there aren’t enough hours in a day to see them all come to fruition immediately, but rest assured… our commitment to supporting the indie publishing industry is unwavering, as is our willingness to make a difference to as many authors as possible by bringing their work to the public’s attention.
Interested in being part of our journey? Do get in touch today at: info@notforvanity.com
